NYU grad clinches Cocktail World Cup

NEW YORK - A New York University graduate has helped win team USA the 42BELOW Cocktail World Cup in New Zealand.

Sean Hoard, 23- who used to work at PDT bar in the East Village- wowed the judges with a playful kiwi vodka fizz he created by listening to his customers.

The Portland, Ore., native came to the city in 2005 to study music business at NYU.

He pulled a barback shift at PDT one night a week, and tapped into a talent he never knew he had.

“I love tending bar. Everybody comes in here and wants to take $1,500 bartending classes, but the best thing you can do is just watch people who know what they’re doing and ask questions. I worked my tail off, so when someone left and shifts opened up, I got bumped up to being bartender,” the New York Daily News quoted him as saying.

Inspired by a friend Hoard decided to take a shot at the world title.

After a tasty afternoon of trial and error with his regulars at PDT, Hoard came up with the Wellington Fizz- a vodka-based beverage inspired by a popular New Zealand dessert that includes kiwi, passionfruit and a thick meringue whipped from club soda and an egg white.

“I’ve heard bartending compared to baking because precision is so important. At the end of the day, a Manhattan is only three ingredients. So if you mess up pouring one of them, then a third of your drink is wrong,” he said.

“The judges wanted a balanced, elegant cocktail, and a good bartender knows how to serve you what you want. What matters is that you have a good time and a drink that you enjoy. That’s what y job is all about,” added Hoard. (ANI)